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It has been a crazy “hack-week” in crypto.

Gm, coolkidz.

It has been a crazy “hack week” in crypto. First, we had a $160 million hack of Wintermute’s DeFi Operations. Then, a white-hat hacker exposed a vulnerability in the Arbitrum network which could have been exploited for $475 million; fortunately, a white hat.

Crypto happenings aside, welcome back to “What’s Brand New?”, brought to you by NFT Paris.

For those who are new, we bring you the biggest NFT and web3 brand news every week, keeping you well-informed on what’s brand new in the space.

If you’d like to see more of NFT Paris’ content, be sure to check out our website and Twitter!

Now… let’s dive right into it!

Hennessy’s Launch of Luxury Wines… and NFTs

It certainly isn’t every day that we hear about luxury wines and NFTs together. But Hennessy is trying to change that.

Hennessy, a French brand of cognac, is one of the world’s leading cognac houses. They have released a new collection, “Hennessy Paradis Golden Edition”, with a collection size of only 500.

This limited-edition collection is sold in the form of phygital NFTs. In other words, the NFTs can be traded for IRL physical bottles of cognac. Considering its exclusivity and small collection size, $2,500 per pop seems like a steal!

The NFT itself is unique, an animated piece designed by renowned stylist Veneda Carter. A fitting partnership for a luxury product!

Hennessy has also collaborated with BlockBar to launch its NFT collection. Blockbar is among the first crypto DTC (Direct-To-Consumer) Marketplaces, specifically for trading wines and spirits.

Dov Falic, CEO and co-founder of BlockBar, commented: “BlockBar is at the forefront of phygital gifting this holiday season. We’re excited to offer our community this unique offering combining an exclusive artwork by Veneda Carter with personalized gift messages and an investable asset-backed NFT of Hennessy Paradis Golden Edition.”

If you missed this drop - not to worry. Hennessy has already planned for a second NFT drop of 100 Magnum bottles sometime in December. This one is even more exclusive… so don’t miss out!

Okay Bears One Step Closer To “WAGBO” Dream

This title may be a little confusing, so allow me to set the context.

Okay Bears is one of the most successful NFT projects in the Solana ecosystem to date. Minting at roughly $150, Okay Bears NFT prices rose as high as 300+ SOL at some point, and now stand at a floor price of around 72 SOL.

Their brand vision, “We’re All Gonna Be Okay”, is now one step closer to being fulfilled.

Okay Bears has partnered with IMG, a global product and branding licensing agency, providing services from brand strategy to marketing, and even merch! IMG is no new player, they have served clients like Angry Birds, GAP, Alfa Romeo, and more.

A co-founder of Okay Bears, Kais, remarked: “Working with IMG is a ground-breaking step towards amplifying Okay Bears' brand message. Collaborating with impactful globally recognized brands will help us to serve our community better and to remind the world that 'we're all gonna be okay.”

This is definitely a huge step forward in terms of branding and publicity for Okay Bears. Working with an experienced player like IMG, Okay Bears will be propelled and perhaps, make its way from PFP project, to a well-sought-after brand, all in record time.

More Musicians Are Discovering The Promise of Web3: omgkirby

Last Friday, promising remix artiste and musician omgkirby sold out his new collection of NFTs. A new release in the omgkirbyDAO, this collection of 5,550 music NFTs sold out in no time.

These NFTs are in fact, generative music NFTs, uniquely from various soundtracks including those of American Rapper Channel Tres. As such, it is named “omgkirby x CT” collection.

The special thing about these NFTs is the complete IP ownership of the unique song. This includes publishing and masters rights to the soundtrack, so not only are you supporting the content creators - but also buying and owning a piece of their work. Music tracks are also uploadable to DSPs (Apple, Spotify, Tidal, etc.)

Quoting omgkirby, “Our drop with Channel Tres is our most groundbreaking yet. We’re further pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in generative music. The songs are created from a blend of human and machine that mixes keys, tempos, and arrangements while being full-length tracks featuring the vocals and sounds of the incredible Channel Tres.”

Beyond the music, it is refreshing to see an underappreciated industry slowly emerging in the web3 space. With NFTs, artists and musicians need not rely on Spotify and others to survive; they connect directly with fans through NFTs. And NFTs serve as a support channel from listener to creator.

Truly, this is the start of sustainably building your personal brand.

Italian Streetwear Brand & NFT Project Collaborate at Milan Fashion Week

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Darcel Disappoints is a writer and artist, documenting the ‘highs and lows’ of life since before crypto began. He founded the Dour Darcels NFT collection, and now is coming up with a fashion-related web3 game, “Dour Fits”.

A styling game where players compete in dressing their Dour best, with native tokens and IRL clothing to be won! Best of all, the winners are decided by the community.

For their first launch of the game, Dour Darcels are partnering with modern streetwear brand Slam Jam, an Italian business that provides fashionable urban wear. Despite being established in 1989 (relatively young), they have made a name for themselves, working with the likes of Nike and New Balance.

Participants may design using digital renditions of Slam Jam’s products as templates, and the winners not only get exclusive Slam Jam x Dour Darcels NFTs, but also IRL clothing from the brand.

The event is set to coincide with Milan Fashion Week (20 Sept - 26 Sept). With the joint forces of two fashion-heavily focused brands, it will be interesting to see the designs and artistry produced from this contest!

TOKEN2049’s Insane NFT Exhibitions

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TOKEN2049 is one of the biggest crypto and web3 events in Asia, hosted in Singapore. The biggest names in web3 meet here, as it also coincides with one of the few nighttime F1 events in the world.

NFT and brands are showing up in full force to this event. TOKEN2049 has unveiled its OP3N WHALE NFT Exhibition, a $100 million+ NFT collection created by an exclusive membership club; with whales only.

From artworks by XCOPY (glitch warning), to generative pieces from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, a full-scale exhibition will be set up at this event. With tens of thousands of people expected to attend, the artistry on display is truly dynamic.

Snoop Dogg fans are also in luck! His son, Cordell Broadus, also known as Champ Medici, will be launching a Champs Medici Lounge during this event. One of the highlights is a father and son art gallery — showcasing not just Dr. Bombay and Medici’s NFT collection, but also traditional and modern art pieces.

With the biggest names all coming together in one place, brand activity on the ground will be prolific. It’s exciting to see NFT art galleries popping up in the midst of lively events; which highlights the importance of branding and art in the web3 arena. This is going to be a blast of an event!

And that's a wrap!

Thanks for staying till the end, and we hope you’re now better informed on NFT brand activity this week in the space.

With all these hacks and exploits going on, don’t overlook the importance of keeping your funds SAFU, and go the extra mile to remind friends to do the same!

We hope this new email setup suits you well… if there’s anything we can improve on, do drop us a note.

Hope to see you IRL at NFT Paris, February 2023! Till next time, coolkidz.